The last day of this madness…the meet is taking its toll…..just look at the wreckage in our rented apartment. Bodies everywhere…
Took myself on out on the town for a magnificent coffee shop breakfast. The best part was the solitude: very few people there at 7 AM on a Sunday.
A little bike ride to loosen the legs.....across the Willamette and into Springfield. When I realize I'm a bit ahead of schedule, I take a detour up Skyline to Pre's Rock.
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'Up' is a key word here....that climb is a GRIND.
Time to roll....organizers throw some extra swag our way.
A little early for the day's events, so I take a 30 minute snooze under the bleachers.
Yesterday's standings. I think we might be able to pull out a squeaker.
Shalane does a nice job with the cookbooks...and the marathon.
American great Craig Masback.
Track ace Mica sends me this shot of Craig back in the day....
I show the picture to Craig, thinking there's no way he remembers that race. Oh nay, nay...
1) Cambridge/Oxford vs the Ivy League, probably around 1976
2) Iffley Road Track, Oxford
3) Craig's first sub-4 minute mile
4) The second sub-4 minute mile on that track, the first being Roger Bannister in 1954
5) Roger Bannister was in attendance to watch Craig's race
I LOVE TRACK!
House of Run podcast host Kevin. If you enjoy the sport, listen in. He and fellow host Jason do an incredible job. And if you can stump them on arcane trivia from the Prefontaine movie 'Without Limits,' you are exempt from a muddy training run up Skinner's Butte with Roscoe and Kenny.
I tell Kevin my solution for the US men's persistent baton problems in the 4x100m relay. Forget coaching by Carl Lewis, Mike Marsh, et al.....have the men's get instruction from....THE US WOMEN. Dead serious here....the women seem to pass the stick just fine.
That relay was incredible. Recent collegian Abby Steiner had the second leg and was running directly at me with a look of pure hate on her face.....she puts a quarter second into two time 100m Olympic Champion Elaine Thompson....then hometown UO phenom Jenna takes the stick and gives Jamaica's Shelly Ann a run for her money as well. The US anchor leg is just enough to take the victory. Tremendous job....like I said, they should be training the men.
This British guy is one of the on-field announcers. He looks familiar to me...
He chuckles and says, "No, that's my friend Greg." This guy is Iwan Thomas, silver medalist on the 1996 Olympic 4x400 relay. One of my favorite races, because an upstart American team of unproven runners took down the vaunted Brits.
Best hurdle team in the world! These folks had their hands on a second world record, this time the women's 100m high hurdles.
Men's decathlon hurdles: the guys look like a Murderer's Row lineup, everyone has their game face on. Reminds me of this shot from the 2012 Olympic Trials, when some guy was pumping himself up for the 400m.
For the hurdles semi-final, I'm stationed between Phil Knight's suite and the Nike suite. Here's Uncle Phil.
The first hurdle semi starts, and I see world record holder Keni Harrison falling back by the halfway point. A Nigerian woman takes the race in 12.12. No reaction from anyone, as people nearby are busy talking about family and their dinner plans. I blurt out, "That's a world record, people!"
The decathlon competitors run the 1500m on exhausted leg. A guy from Puerto Rico is in medal contention, so he busts it....soon after the finishing, the scoreboard updates and shows him third overall, and he commences to big happy sobbing.
Then the scoreboard updates once more and he's relegated to fourth. That's just COLD.
"Unfair" (Definition): putting Michael Norman on leg 2 of the 4x400m relay.
The pole vault happens right in front of me. Another world record, and exactly 1 minute before the TV feed ends! And how did I miss that front flip?
As the meet ends, the American team stages themselves next to my post, so I have to find an escape route under the stands. Good thing I'm fairly thin.
So THIS is where they're hiding legendary UO coach and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman. Under the bleachers?
I see light....
The colors in the stadium are stunning....and Legend takes a final lap on his scooter.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe...he has some Olympic jewelry of his own.
On my melancholy walk back to my room, I see this Ethiopian celebration.
6 years of waiting for this meet. What an experience. Hopefully to be topped by...
Los Angeles 2028.
Day 9: Great food (finally), and Relays that work (sometimes)
Day 8: A Cuban embargo lifted, an airborne Mac, and Syd the Kid
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